Tag Archives: State of the Subways Report Card

Queens riders rejoice—the No. 7 train was rated the best New York City subway line.

This is the seventh time in 16 years the line has placed first in an annual review conducted by the transit advocacy group, Straphangers Campaign.

The “State of the Subways Report Card,” released every year since 1997, concluded that the No. 7 ranked highest because it comes most frequently. The Flushing to Times Square train also has fewer delays caused by mechanical breakdown, more seats available during rush hour and is clean, according to the report.

Other Queens subway lines also received high praise. The E train was only delayed once every 546,744 miles, the best of the 19 trains. It was also among five trains that made “accurate and understandable” announcements, the study concluded. R train riders, at 66 percent, have the highest chance of grabbing a seat during the most congested times of the day.

The Q train was deemed the dirtiest train, with 17 percent of its trains rated “moderately or heavily dirty,” the report said.

Overall, researchers found that city subways broke down more often in the last two years but were cleaner and announcements were more audible.

The report, which profiled 20 subway lines and rated 19, was based on how often they run and breakdown, seat availability, cleanliness and announcements.

The Q, which connects Astoria to midtown Manhattan, was given the highest “MetroCard Rating,” $1.60. Tied for second were the 7 and J/Z lines at $1.55.

It was the first time since 2001 that the Q train topped the list. During rush hour it was rated at or above the system’s average in every category except for how often it runs.

No Queens lines were at the bottom of the list. The lowest rated lines in the borough were the N and R, tied in seventh place with a rating of $1.20. Only 36 percent of N passengers were likely to get a seat during rush hour, compared to 44 percent system wide. The R line’s worse rating was for how many times it broke down.

For the fourth year in a row, the C line, which runs from Washington Heights to East New York, near the Brooklyn/Queens border was dead last at 85 cents.

Overall, the New York City subway system had some slight improvements. Car announcements were up at 3.4 percent and breakdowns improved 1.5 percent. Cleanliness, however, dropped 4 percent.